Uniform Crime Report Improves in 2008 for Metuchen

The yearly Uniform Crime Report has been made public by the State of New Jersey and Metuchen fared quite well, dropping to 10 violent crimes reported last year from the 2007 report of 18 such incidents and from 278 to 260 non-violent crimes. The short-staffed police department was able to support a full staff in 2008, which Police Chief James Keane thinks was a huge help in achieving these improved numbers.

Councilman Richard Weber reacted to the news: "Once again our Metuchen Police Department has done an excellent job and has reduced both violent and non-violent crime in our Borough. The statewide average drop in violent crime was 1 percent from 2007 to 2008, but Metuchen saw an even greater decrease of 1.8 percent. More striking is that from 2007 to 2008 there was a statewide increase of 3 percent in non-violent crime. However, in Metuchen we saw a decrease of just over 1 percent. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the Chief and all the members of the Metuchen Police Department who have been working very hard. These statistics show that their efforts are working. Keep up the great work, guys and gals!"